Christmas card pictures-round two

We tried again today after church and Sunday School.  Bad idea.  Sam was about to fall asleep-check it out!-and they were both really into this tree.  They kept hiding behind all the draping branches and running all around.  Yeah, this attempt lasted about five minutes.There was a really awesome part though.  Jack saw the American flag (down there on the ground) and stopped to say the Pledge of Allegiance-hand over his heart (or rib cage) and all!  I melted and then scooped him up and kissed him all over his sweet face!!

Callie and Chloe’s Barnyard Bash

Callie-girl is big in our house.  I mean talking-about-her-being-his-wife kind of big!  The other night during our prayers, Jack asked if I would pray for big Callie.  I asked who big Callie was, and he said, “You know, my little Callie.  She’s gonna grow up to be my big Callie.  Then she’s gonna be my wife and I’m gonna kiss her.  Then she’s gonna give me my boy ring like daddy’s.  And it’s gonna be a circle cuz that’s easiest.”  Umm, ok.  So, Callie’s now spoken for, and now that’s documented for the future slide show! :)When we got the birthday invitation to the Barnyard Bash, there was a lot of excitement at the Thomas house!  He told me he was going to run up and kiss her when he saw her (despite me reminding him that we save our kisses for our family!), but he did this instead.  I guess he’s shy around his crush, which is fine by me-and I’m sure Vaughn, too!Callie and Chloe had some beautiful horses at their party, so Jack went for a ride.Callie and Boland did, too!Sweet nine-day-old Anna West came to celebrate, and I pretty much wanted to snuggle her on up.Brooks, Jack, and Ellison worked on some cowboy crafts,and Emory and James had fun, too!We sang to the birthday girls and they enjoyed yummy cupcakes.and then the great bee sting of 2012 happened and I stopped taking pictures!  Once I could tell he was totally fine (seriously, totally fine!), it started being a bit funny.  He was saying some really funny things.  When we got home, I quickly wrote about five things down before I forgot them.  My favorite, through sniffles, “Mom, that bee shoulda just shaked my hand and gave me a hug.”  Sweet boy!!

Thanks for having us to your Barnyard Bash, Callie and Chloe!  It was BEAUTIFUL out there, and your mommy did a really great job!!  Happy birthday to you two!

Nighttime visitor

So it’s 10:30 at night, Mark and I are watching TV and I’m downloading some pictures from my phone to my computer.  And in walks this boy.  Um, how was he not sleeping!  I guess he had something important to tell us.  Crazy t-tiny!

Our New Friends

So, since Jack and I went to Toy Story on Ice and since we’ve been watching Toy Story, Jack’s been pretending he’s Buzz Lightyear-and every now and then, Woody.  The other night, Mark decided to invite those two friends over, and two days later, Mr. Craig dropped them off!  Jack saw the box on the steps and was SO EXCITED!! He started flying him around the house and checking out every button with complete excitement and gratitude.  It was so fun to watch!  I grabbed my big camera and started snapping the first moments of this little friendship! He also met Woody, and loved him!  He gave him a hug, a ride on his shoulders and introduced him to Buzz.  Love this imagination!This Buzz power cuff is pretty neat, too!  Laser light and sounds, night vision, and night lights to boot!  Definitely makes him feel like the real Buzz! This one?  He was checking out the new friends, but Jack was not interested in sharing just yet, and Sam was quite happy with his utensils! Crazy baby! 

We’re sure having fun with these new friends!  He’s acting just like Andy does in the movie, flying them around the house, shoulder rides, having conversations with them, and it’s so fun to watch!  These guys are real to him (even though he’ll stop sometimes and say things like, “Mom, Buzz can’t close his eyes to sleep because he’s just pretend.”) and it reminds me of when I played with my baby dolls.  I’m not a huge fan of a lot of plastic or character toys, but Buzz and Woody are welcomed to stay!

The mountains

While Sam and I went to Michigan to be with my family, Mark and Jack headed to Blowing Rock with the Lees and Pretulaks as planned.  They didn’t have the best weather, but Saturday was nice at some point, so they went fishing!  Jack’s fist time!And they caught one!  Next time you see him, ask him how big his fish was.  He’s already telling ‘big fish’ stories!    Side story:  We were in the car and Jack said, “Mom, you can come fishin with me when you get a little bit older.  I’m three.  You’re just a month old.  It’s pretty tricky.  I dust throwed my fishing pole out there, and a fish jumped on it!  You gotta be careful.  It’s dangerous!” :)They mined for gems, too, and Jack told me he found some “special jewels” for me.  Love it!  Thanks for the pictures, Clark!

Just some things I don’t want to forget

Like how he roars right now 

and how he gives kisses right now.

And I don’t want to forget Sam’s little “ba-da-ba-da-ba-da” and that Jack loves his daddy like crazy and called me his wife! :)

PJs with Santa

I took our big boy on our first Christmas date of the season tonight.  Sam and Mark played at home, and Jack and I went to PJs with Santa!  I told him he was going to get to talk to Santa and he got excited.  I totally didn’t believe the excitement based on the last two years, but it’s such a sweet event for the kids, so I was excited, too!

We walked around for a bit and were going to do a craft with Callie and Chloe and James, but then Jack spotted Cocky and nearly jumped out of his skin.  I’m totally doubting that he’ll talk to Santa at this point!  We headed to watch Rudolph instead-a safe distance away from the Cocky sighting-and he loved it, popcorn and all!The line to see the big guy was pretty long, and it wasn’t getting any shorter, so we hopped in and I started psyching him up!  The first thing he said he wanted to ask Santa is what’s in his pockets.  The boy loves pockets!  Then he said he was going to ask him for a John Deere car and a new hammer for Sam.  So sweet! As we waited we got to talk with some of our friends!  We chatted with Hudson and his family and the Goddards and got to watch countless others practice being patient! We finally made it to the front of the line, and Jack still seemed so excited!  He watched the family before us take their turn and wanted so badly to talk to Santa-he kept asking me to call his name.  I explained that his turn was next and he could talk with him then.  I really couldn’t believe his excitement this year!  Our turn came, and wouldn’t ‘cha know, our big boy hopped right up there and talked to Santa-and smiled!  He did his nervous-shy-stick-my-tongue-out thing at first and then smiled a big, happy smile!  And sure enough, he asked about his pockets and told him about the car and the hammer.  I was so proud it brought tears to my eyes!  Sitting on Santa’s lap-a little thing.  Watching your little boy grow up right before your very eyes-a big thing.  Thank you God for this wonderful gift of being his momma!When his turn was over, we were talking about how fun that was and what a nice man Santa is.  Jack said, “Mommy, Hosanna is my BEST friend!”  And then we ran into the Duprees-yay!-and Watson was his best friend!  Aren’t they sweet! Such a fun, fun, night

The magic has begun

I love it.  This is my absolute favorite time of the year.  I’m pretty sure Jack has noticed.  As I’ve been decorating, he’s been commenting, and I’ve been melting!  “Mommy, you did a good job with the decorations!”  “Mommy, those look so good!” and my favorite, “Thank you for the decorations, mommy.”  He’s been saying that it’s Christmastime and he’s been talking all about Hosanna!  I’m going to soak up every last bit of this most wonderful Season!